The New Atkins Made Easy (33 page)

Rice and noodles are the staples of the four major regional cuisines: Cantonese, Szechuan, Hunan, and Shandong. Most dishes use meat or fish as an addition rather than the main ingredient and rely on a sauce—generally thickened with cornstarch. If possible, request that any dish be prepared with the sauce on the side. Wu shu duck, for example, is usually dusted with almond flour, fried, and served with a dark brown sauce. The sauce is sweetened, but the duck itself is delicious without it. Avoid any sweet-and-sour and breaded or battered dishes as well as noodle dishes. A small portion of brown rice is fine, if your carb tolerance allows. Have Peking duck and mu shu pork but skip the pancakes and plum sauce. To avoid empty carbs:

White rice is a staple of this cuisine, but you can still enjoy Japanese food without it. Sauces and seasonings include shoyu, or Japanese soy sauce; mirin, sweet rice wine that usually contains added sugar; dashi, broth made from dried fish (bonito) flakes; ponzu, a dipping sauce made from shoyu, rice wine vinegar, dashi, and seaweed; wasabi, an extremely hot Japanese horseradish; pickled ginger; miso, a paste made from fermented soybeans; and sesame seeds and toasted sesame oil. A variety of vegetables are usually grilled or blanched briefly. Try burdock (a relative of the artichoke), daikon, lotus root, and Japanese eggplant. Also sample the pickled vegetables, including seaweed, which are most often served as a snack or appetizer.
Oshinko
means “pickle” in Japanese, but these are unlike any gherkins you've ever tried. For a fun-to-eat, satisfying main course, try shabu-shabu, thin slices of beef and vegetables that you cook at the table in broth—it's the Japanese version of fondue. To cut the carbs:

Pad thai, the national dish, is based on noodles with shrimp, scallions, eggs, dried tofu, bean sprouts, and chopped peanuts. But the flavors and combinations that make Thai food distinctive, including coconut milk, lemongrass, tamarind, cilantro, turmeric, cumin, chiles, lime juice, and kaffir lime leaves, can be found in many other dishes. For example, nua yang nam tok is made with sliced steak marinated in lime juice and mixed with chiles, onion, tomato, cucumber, coriander leaves, and lettuce. The same flavors are applied to sliced squid in yum pla muk. Try tom yum goong, a shrimp soup with straw mushrooms, seasoned with lime juice, lemongrass, and hot peppers; or gai tom kha, made with chicken slices in coconut milk. In general, it's best to stick to dishes that are quickly sautéed with vegetables and aromatic Thai herbs. To keep a lid on carbs:

Fish and shellfish, usually grilled or stewed in a sauce, make up a large part of the typical Korean diet. Pork, beef, and chicken are often
marinated and grilled. Some dishes, such as kalbi tang, a marinated beef rib stew, are served with rice; others come with noodles. Korea is also known for its barbecue (bulgogi) of thin slices of a premium cut of beef. A Korean restaurant may also offer barbecued chicken and pork, and perhaps fish and squid bulgogi, but skip the sauce, which is likely sweetened with sugar. Kimchi, an assortment of fermented vegetables seasoned with hot chiles, salt, garlic, onions, ginger, and oyster or fish sauce, is one of the best-known Korean specialties. To keep carbs under control:

Dining at a friend or relative's house should be an enjoyable occasion. But you may fear that your host or hostess will be offended if you don't eat everything, exclaim how fabulous it is, and ask for seconds. What to do if you know that some of the dishes aren't going to pass muster carbwise? To a large degree, it depends on the circumstances.

• 
The meal is buffet style.
You're in luck. Simply pick the items you can eat and pass on the others. If people are sitting all over the house or yard, it's unlikely your host will notice what each guest selects.

• 
The invitation says potluck.
Bring a low-carb dish and share it. Also have suitable foods prepared by others, such as salad or vegetables.

• 
It's a sit-down affair.
Your host and/or hostess are in charge, and your relationship with them is more important than avoiding a few grams of added sugar or a spoonful of potatoes au gratin. That doesn't mean that you're not within your rights to ask for sauce on the side or for a small portion of a high-carb dish. When it comes to dessert, ask for a small piece, take a bite, and leave the rest on the plate.

Many people have food allergies or dietary preferences. If your host had to accommodate the personal food issues of every guest, he or she might never get a meal on the table! However, if you're asked before the event whether there's anything you don't eat, you certainly can say that you're slimming down and are staying away from desserts and starches. Immediately add that by no means should that influence the menu. Instead, just eat the main dish and vegetables.

When you're on your own turf, it's always easier to stick to your usual routine. If you travel for business or pleasure, your usual patterns may be disrupted by time zone changes, a schedule you don't control, or countless other factors. Before you leave the house:

• If you have to be up at dawn, grab an Atkins bar or prepare a low-carb breakfast for yourself the night before. Have it before you go or take it with you. Don't leave home empty-handed or on an empty stomach.

• Know where to find acceptable snacks or meals so that if you can't bring something with you, at least you know the location of a convenience store or fast-food place with low-carb options along the way.

• One item will do as a snack, but if you're putting together a meal, you'll need to include several items. Pack each item in a separate resealable bag in an insulated carrier.

• Bring suitable foods such as the ones listed as snacks appropriate for the various phases (see pages
87
,
137
, and
168
) to keep you satisfied and able to resist temptation.

If you're on vacation and sightseeing or engaging in activities such as hiking, swimming, or skiing, chances are you're getting plenty of exercise. But if you're spending most of your waking hours in a conference room or driving from one appointment to another, you'll probably want to find a way to get in some physical activity. Many hotels have a fitness center; if not, you can always bring your walking shoes and get out and explore the surroundings.

Your commitment to eating the Atkins way needn't be disrupted en route if you follow these suggestions for a smooth flight.

• Atkins bars are great portable snacks—just don't try to carry a shake on a plane! (Like all beverages, it can't go through security.)

• Bring suitable food from home packed in a way that will pass muster at security.

• Alternatively, after security clearance, visit a salad bar. Pile up the greens and top them with slices of chicken or another protein source to take with you on the plane. Also purchase bottled water, club soda, unsweetened tea, coffee, or herb tea so that you can stay hydrated in the air.

• Go to the website for the carrier you're flying on and check out the meal options to ensure that something suitable is available. Most airlines have a main-dish salad that will serve.

• Bring small bags of nuts or seeds with you to munch on.

Staying in a hotel can be a nice break from your usual responsibilities. No need to make dinner—or the bed! But the room's refrigerator is likely full of the same high-carb foods you've banished from your own kitchen: cookies, candy, crackers, and chips. If you fear that you'll be tempted, decline the key to the fridge or return it to the front desk. (And there's no need to spend $5 for a bottle of water, even if you are on an expense account!) Room service is wonderfully convenient, but it too poses some challenges:

• Specify what you
don't
want—no toast, bread, or jam, for example—as well as what you
do
want.

• Have the server immediately remove anything you don't want tempting you if it arrives despite your instructions.

• As soon as you've eaten, put the tray outside the door.

Whether you're eating out, traveling, or grabbing a meal during your lunch break, with this wealth of information you'll undoubtedly feel more in control of your meals away from home. In the next chapter, I hope to lure you back into your own kitchen to try out some delicious quick and easy Atkins recipes, all of which are acceptable from day one on Atkins.

Zucchini–Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Eggs Parmesan

Chocolate Waffles

Breakfast Casserole

Breakfast Sandwich

Deep-Dish Sausage and Cauliflower Pizza

Cheesy Chicken and Green Bean Skillet

Asian Beef Stir-Fry

Crockpot Pork and Salsa Verde

Tilapia Patties on Baby Spinach

Lemon Tartar Sauce

Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Creamy Sweet Soy Sauce

Parmesan-Garlic White Sauce

Speedy, Spicy, Chunky Tomato Sauce

Chipotle Shrimp Salad

Grilled Chicken and Marinated Kale Salad

Buffalo Chicken Salad

Turkey Enchilada Salad

Crisp Lettuce Wedge with Sliced Flank Steak

All-Season Caprese Salad with Prosciutto

Cream of Broccoflower Soup

No-Bean Chicken Chili

Taco Soup

Creamy Basil–Spinach Soup with Bacon Bits

Salmon Mushroom Chowder

Mozzarella Sticks

Crunchy Asiago Crackers

Crispy Kale Chips

Zucchini Parmesan Fritters

Cocktail Shrimp with Lemony Garlic Sauce

Fudgy Pops

Devil's Food Panna Cotta

Tiramisu Pudding

Lemon Crêpes

Green Tea Slushie

M
ost of the ingredients found in the following recipes are available in your supermarket or a shopping club. Sources for a few less familiar ingredients are provided.

Several of the recipes call for coconut-flax flour blend. To make, mix equal parts coconut flour with ground flaxseed and refrigerate in an airtight container. Both ingredients can be found in most supermarkets in the baking aisle or gluten-free section, as well as at Walmart and natural foods stores. (Bob's Red Mill is one good brand.) If you opt to use only ground flaxseed in baked goods, the texture will not be as cakelike and some people find the taste bitter. For best results, flaxseed should be finely ground in a coffee grinder or mini food processor; most preground brands are chunky. The coconut-flax flour blend also dials down the carbs but preserves a soft cakelike texture.

Some recipes call for tamari, which contains no wheat, rather than soy sauce, which does. However, if you have no tamari on hand, feel free to substitute soy sauce.

Some recipes call for both cooking spray (use the canola or olive oil kind)
and
oil or butter. Use the cooking spray first to lubricate the pan,
which enables the oil or butter to spread more evenly, reducing the risk of items such as crêpes sticking to the pan.